Best DSLR camera for amateur in expert photography?

amit007 · October 20, 2015

I am an authorized and expert hairdresser and cosmetics craftsman, yet have dependably had an eye and an energy for photography! I need to break into expert photography and pair that up with my hair styling and cosmetics aesthetics.

To begin I might want to do senior photographs, family representations, engagement shoots, and so forth.

What is the best proficient camera set up I ought to put resources into? My financial plan is around $1000 - $1500

I'd significantly acknowledge proposals, tips and exhortation on the hardware I'll need and to begin around here!

Much thanks to you!!!

Brett1000 · October 20, 2015

amit007 wrote: »

I am an authorized and expert hairdresser and cosmetics craftsman, yet have dependably had an eye and an energy for photography! I need to break into expert photography and pair that up with my hair styling and cosmetics aesthetics.

To begin I might want to do senior photographs, family representations, engagement shoots, and so forth.

What is the best proficient camera set up I ought to put resources into? My financial plan is around $1000 - $1500

I'd significantly acknowledge proposals, tips and exhortation on the hardware I'll need and to begin around here!

Much thanks to you!!!

what camera are you now using?
Do you currently have a portfolio of photos?

cmason · October 20, 2015

Photography is a learned skill and art, it is not about the equipment. You can learn photography with any camera, but it helps having one that assumes the photographer will choose settings, vs the camera doing it. I believe the best learning is done on a completely manual camera, but sadly, those really don't exist any longer.

Most won't be satisfied that they are doing 'professional' photography without a DSLR. This isn't true, but DSLRs are probably the best bet in growing with your camera.

I would not worry about have the 'best' or really anything all that great at this point. If you are asking, then you don't know enough about what you need. Thats ok. Just go into it assuming you are getting your 'learning' camera, and in a few years you will learn enough to know what you 'need' vs 'want'.

So, my recommendation is to buy into a fairly well known system, and a brand that is common. This gives you tons of options, including books, videos and classes to learn from. If you get a common Nikon, there are tons of books and youtube videos to show you how to do things on a Nikon. If you get a smaller brand, say Pentax, you might have difficulty finding books and accessories. Once you know what you need, then you can buy whatever brand floats your boat later, as you won't have any need for basic videos and books that need to be specific for your equipment. Can you do mirrorless? Sure, you can, but again, the bulk of the market, and therefore the bulk of the learning material are generally associated with Nikon and Canon. If you buy Olympus, you get a great camera, but it will be harder to find books, videos and yes even accessories for your camera. Buy that one NEXT time, when you know what you want.

So I would recommend that you purchase USED. Get something like a Canon Rebel T4 or T5 is nice (EOS 600-700 series). You can do quite well with the 15-85 USM lens that comes with these, and as you will learn with lenses, you can always spend more. If portraits are indeed your thing, you should consider a 50mm f1.4 lens, which is affordable for a prime or better yet is a 70-200 f4 or f2.8, which are great portrait and all-around lenses.

You can easily do the same with the Nikon range, but I don't know it well enough to give you specific camera models. Look thru Dpreview.com for comparisons and other info.